Morning rides often are a win win
Yes, that is what I always thought and lately I felt like sharing my perspective about it in detail. With this article I would like to explain why riding in the morning can be preferable to any other times of the day. This, of course, will also depend on whether you are a morning or afternoon person. But in any case, let me break it down for you:
It is spring now in the Northern Hemisphere and temperatures in Italy are already pretty good to enjoy some time on the bike without so many layers of clothing.
At this time of the year, we cyclists don’t have to worry anymore about overnight frosts and icy roads.
Within a few weeks it will be possible to go on an early morning ride, watch the sunrise and come back home before the rush hour on the road and start our day with some exercise done.
When I lived in England, and then in the Netherlands, during the week I committed for a ride before work, fasting. Something between 1 hour and 1h half without any breakfast.
A great chance to get my dose of exercise done before the usual daily routine with an extra opportunity to accelerate my metabolism, extending the time without food from the night before, and feeling refreshed and revitalized for a few hours afterwards.
It was definitely challenging at the beginning, no doubt the first 10 minutes were at least, but then the opportunity of riding in such quieter circumstances, waiting for the sun to rise and the fog standing over the fields were worth the effort.
This could be the case during the week, if you happen to work at a 9-5 job.
If you are able to do only a short loop, during the weekend you can do better, maybe postponing a bit the time you set off.
That way, you can start already when it’s daylight and ride for a longer time, coming back home by mid-day in time to prepare lunch and spend time with your family.
If, in any case, you have a more flexible schedule during the week, I would still recommend going on a morning ride: like I mentioned, it allows you to avoid rush hour, and it’s usually a pretty picturesque time of the day to take photos or enjoy the view.
Riding in the morning also means having a relaxed body, without any stress or fatigue accumulated during the day.
If we would measure our heart beats, we would always notice a lower number compared to riding after a meal or in the afternoon.
Another important factor to take in account are weather conditions. Almost always, wind picks up at 1 or 2 pm, while we have seen that before 10 am is often very mild. Definitely a great benefit for our time on the saddle.
